I came, I saw, I conquered.
by Em
Summary: Harry fic...from Dumbledore's point of view.
1. The calm before the storm.

It was the day before the students arrived

I came, I saw, I conquered.

__

By Em

__

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of any of the characters or of any of the places. As many fanfic authors say, I am just taking them all for a spin. The characters and their personalities as well as many other things I've mentioned were made up by the renowned JKR. Whom I'm sure you're all familiar with.

Authors Note: This is not by any means the end of my other fic. It is just a fanfic that I feel more comfortable writing, seeing as its in more my style. I do not have a beta reader, so there are a lot of mistakes and I don't have any copies of the books of my own, because I borrowed them. This fic is going to mainly be from Dumbledore's point of view, but switch. Don't be disheartened by this, because I have an idea, which will keep you interested…if you are to begin with. I am myself very interested in writing this fic at the moment so I expect the next few chapters will be out quickly. I don't mind feedback, Infact I welcome it. I hope that through reviews I can improve my style. Oh, and on my bio I have a little challenge…can you take it up. One more thing…I got the inspiration for this fic from Dumbledore (not from the book, but from this site) and they've written a wonderful fanfic called 'Harry Potter and the legacy of Merlin' they don't know this yet though.

It was the day before the students arrived. Another staff meeting had to be called. Dumbledore sat at his desk and for the first time since Voldemort's revival he let his face show his true feelings…despair. The ministry had done its best to ignore the growing threat and cover up any attacks that Voldemort had done. Only the Order of the Phoenix and Hogwarts seemed to be doing anything. The old mage felt as if he had the fate of the world on his shoulders. _But I don't do I? _He thought _The fate of the world is resting on the shoulders of a teenage boy._ He had great expectations of Harry, but he knew that Voldemort had risen too soon and was much more powerful than even he was. The end seemed inevitable and the rule of darkness and destruction was upon everyone, but Dumbledore's instincts said that the light would prevail and so he went along with his instincts, however unbelievable. He was interrupted by a faint knocking on the door and immediately his face resumed the expression of optimism.

"Come in." He said with kindness and Snape hesitantly entered the room. The look on his face was one Dumbledore had very rarely seen before and was of fear and despair. Snape had always had good control over his emotions. The last time he'd been like this was when Voldemort was at his height of power and had begun suspecting his disloyalty.

"P…P…Professor, I have been given orders to either K…Kill Potter or B…Be K…K…Killed." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at this; he had never heard Snape stutter, especially as much as this. Infact he wasn't just stuttering, he was also shaking slightly. Dumbledore motioned for Snape to sit and when he was seated began.

"Severus, I don't want you to go back there, it's too dangerous." Snape was about to protest, but thought better of it. Dumbledore began again. "There is another matter I want to bring up with you." He paused to see some recognition from his companion. "I won't lie to you, I'm concerned about Harry. You and I both know that he is the key to the defeat of Voldemort. My concerns however is that he's not ready. I want you to privately tutor him, but I want it kept as secret as possible." He finished. Although Dumbledore had been vague, Snape knew exactly what to do. The two continued to talk for a while and just as Snape was leaving the headmaster called out to him. "Don't be too hard on him though." With that their little meeting was over and Dumbledore's grave expression found its way to its owner again. Noticing this, fawks flew over and landed on the desk this seemed to cheer him up considerably.

The teachers had gathered in the staff room and were waiting for Dumbledore to arrive and start the meeting he called. Professor Trelawney was babbling on about McGonnagall dying soon. The fact that McGonnagall's right hand was clasped tightly around her wand she looked like she was about to transfigure Trelawney into a newt. Dumbledore came in just in time and everyone went quiet and looked at him. He smiled inwardly, never had he worked alongside such wonderful colleagues. Then his mood slightly dampened when he realised that he would also have to fight alongside them, not just work. The weather imitated this quick change of mood and a cold gust of wind blew through the room, chilling the air and making the candles flicker. He cleared his throat.

"Hello everyone. I haven't welcomed everyone since they came back, so welcome all. As you know Voldemort" At the mention of this name everyone shuddered. "Has been resurrected and is gaining power. The ministry is ignoring all the recent attacks that have taken place and have done nothing to stop them. We on the other hand are. If you do not want to have anything to do with our struggle to stop Voldemort, then say so now." The total silence that followed was only punctuated by a clatter of plates the other side of the castle, indicating that peeves was getting up to mischief as usual. Filch shifted in his chair uncomfortably at this. "Good. Tomorrow the students are arriving and as we know one student inparticular is more at risk to be attacked than most. I want everyone to keep and eye on him, especially seeing as he's quite prone to wondering off on his own." The memories of the last four years with Harry came back. He was just like his father. "I also propose that we sort out a rota, where two members of staff keep watch." He stopped to see everyone's response and then resumed with the rest of the meeting.

Soon all the students were arriving. Dumbledore sat at his place in the middle of the staff table and watched everyone pile into the hall. The ceiling above showed a clear and starry sky a moon, so bright that it looked like one huge star. Him attention was drawn to Harry. He looked thinner that when he last saw him, but he always did when coming back from the Dursley's. _Did I make a big mistake when I sent him there?_ Dumbledore asked himself, but then changed his mind. It had been a hard decision to make, but it was the right one. Harry also seemed extremely preoccupied and barley seemed to notice Hermione, who was nattering about something to him. _It doesn't surprise me he's reacting this way; he's been through a lot._ With that final thought he snapped his attention to the first years that were now entering the hall. Each one of them looked terrified beyond terror, except one little boy who had a look of pure glee painted on his face. Much like the one Sirius had when he first arrived at Hogwarts. _This child will probably take after the Weasley twin's mayhem wise. I wonder who he'll become friends with? This is something that I am most intrigued about._ Professor McGonnagall then went up to the temporary stage and placed the age old sorting hat and stool in the middle. Dumbledore could remember when he first asked her if she wanted the job. The expression on her face that followed the question was something he would never forget. She was so proud to have the responsibility at the time and in a way still is, even after all those years of doing it. 

"Bungle, William." Her voice bellowed all around the hall as soon as the song had finished. The boy he had been looking at earlier proudly marched up to the hat, carefully placed it on his head and sat on the stool. A slight chuckle escaped Dumbledore's lips at the boy's antics, but no one heard as the sorting hat bellowing 'Griffindor' drowned it out.

Huge screams echoed the hall from the Griffindor table. Everyone of the brave hearted clapped and made a huge noise. All except one. Harry sat there, barely moving. He was so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed a thing and just looked down at his hands. This however didn't go unnoticed, but no one commented. He'd been distant from everyone since Cedric Diggory's death and even more so since the beginning of the summer holidays. Hermione and Ron were very worried about him. They had no idea about what happened and feared the worst.

The sorting had finished and Dumbledore got up to announce the food. He always felt nervous about this small welcome speech. It was because it was the first time he addressed the whole school each year and always wanted to give off a good impression, which he always did. Yet the anxiety was always there, or was it perhaps the excitement of a New Year mixed with hunger?

"I'd like to welcome you all…" 


	2. Its only the beginning.

Two uneventful days had passed

I came, I saw, I conquered. 

__

By Em.

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of any of the characters or of any of the places. As many fanfic authors say, I am just taking them all for a spin. The characters and their personalities as well as many other things I've mentioned were made up by the renowned JKR. Whom I'm sure you're all familiar with.

Authors note: This is chapter two. I'm mainly concentrating on the characters thoughts and reactions at the moment. I hope to make it more descriptive and give it more action, but first things first. I prefer writing this fic out of any others and I'd like to point out that 'The unexpected' is more a quick fic that I play out all of my ideas on. This one is more serious, but there will be humour in it. It'll just more subtle. I'm going to add something in on the next chapter which a reviewer on my other story helped give me the idea…I just want to point out that the two fics are going to be nothing alike, you just might think so for a bit. I hope you enjoy this and now for the thanks:

JillZee: Yes I am continuing this one…so here you are.

Caitlin: Thankyou and your French is fab.

Leogrl: I'm guessing this is sooner than you thought. Thankyou and I'm glad you like it.

Two uneventful days had passed. Well when I say uneventful, I mean uneventful for Dumbledore because Voldemort hadn't killed anyone. Peeves on the other hand had a quite eventful two days. First of all he scared the first year Slytherin's on their way to bed, causing havoc via a small stampede. Then, because this was so successful he did the same to the rest of the first years. Only the Griffindor's didn't run. The next day he kept throwing food at the students, this resulted in a huge food fight that not even McGonnagall or Snape could stop. Then came the water balloons, the dung-bombs and finally a huge catastrophe in the kitchen. Filch was going ballistic, especially when the Weasley twins decided to add to the chaos.

Dumbledore walked out of his office and began to make his way down to breakfast. _Hopefully Filch won't corner me with his complaints today. _He thought, wishing that his breakfast would be peaceful. As he entered the great hall, the aromatic smell of freshly baked bread tinged with the subtle sweetness of golden honey drifted towards him. _Hmmm breakfast, my favourite bit of the day. _He began to make his way to the staff table, breathing in heavily. Each time he smelt something different: lemon and orange zest; assortments of tangy jams; warm, golden toast covered with peanut butter or lemon curd; recently baked croissants and even the sugary aroma of pancakes with maple syrup and cinnamon. 

As soon as he sat down a contingent of a hundred or more owls flew into the hall and swiftly dropped letter upon letter into everyone's laps before quickly exciting. Three letters dropped onto the headmaster's lap and he carefully placed them in his pocket to read later.

Harry picked over his breakfast. However delicious it all looked and smelt and however much his two best friends urged him to eat, he just wasn't hungry. 

"C'mon Harry." Ron said for what was probably the thirty-first time that day. _You've got to eat, especially seeing as we've got Care Of Magical Creatures today. You know what Hagrid's like; you'll need all the energy you've got! _Harry thought to himself and sure enough Ron said exactly what he thought he would. Most people would think that Harry was psychic, but actually along with the 'C'mon Harry' Ron had added the other sentences on each time. Eventually Harry forced himself to eat the last remaining piece of toast before he went mad under the pressure. 

Dumbledore had been watching Harry and when he was munching on his third pancake he saw Harry eventually eat a piece of cold toast. _At least his friends have got him eating._ He thought to himself happily. Then the headmaster focused on the first year called William Bungle. He was sat right next to one of the Weasley twins, realising this Dumbledore chuckle quietly to himself. _He's going to be quite a handful that one. His sir name is quite odd though. I wonder if it'll clash with his mischievous nature? Yet his first name means 'Desire to protect' so who ever he befriends he will always be there for them. Hmmm. _This line of thought continued until another first year came and sat beside William and they began to talk animatedly about something. _ He's friends with Sheridan Peridot. They will make a pair, _(Sheridan means wild) _I wonder what exactly they'll get up to. I'll have to keep my eye on those two. _At that moment he was disturbed from his thoughts by Hermione yelling.

"HARRY! H…A…R…R…Y…Haarrrryy!" Eventually he looked up after she whacked him around the back of his head. He turned towards her, his eyes wide.

"What was that for?" He asked completely bemused; yet not showing it on his face. Almost everyone in the entire hall gaped at him. "What? Why is everyone looking at me as if I have purple puss pouring out of my every crevasse?" Hermione decided to regain her composure and shut her hanging open mouth. At that point everyone else started to follow suit.

"I've been trying to get your attention for ages." She stated. Her voice holding a slight tint of agitation in it, realising this she hastily continued. "Are you alright?" She asked. He nodded a 'yes' reply, but he obviously wasn't alright and he knew it. The holidays had been tough for him. Not only did he have to suffer at the wrath of his relatives, but he had to spend six weeks feeling responsible for a murder he didn't commit and there was no one there for him to talk to and make him feel better. Not that he wanted to shout what had happened off of the rooftops, but to have had the option to tell someone who would at least try and understand and comfort him would have made the last six weeks bearable. Instead he had had no one to talk to and had to come to terms with what happened all by himself.

Hermione tried to say something else, but as quickly as he was brought back to reality he left it again and started to stare into infinity. Everyone in the vast hall looked at him apprehensively and then went back to eating. They all knew that something bad had happened during the tri-wizard tournament and that Harry had to witness Cedric Diggory's murder (other than that they knew nothing) and contributed his farawayness to that. All that is except for the first years who didn't understand why the 'boy-who-lived' could be so detached. Harry however was completely oblivious to this and was deep in thought. _Why did they look at me like that? Do they think I'm a murderer? Minister Fudge seems to think so._ These sort of thoughts regularly made their way into Harry's mind. Although they didn't do him much good, they did help to strengthen his resolve towards defeating Voldemort. He wanted the reign of the dark to be over and for the dark clouds hanging on the horizon to disperse and allow rays of sunlight to seep through. This however wasn't going to happen. Instead the clouds seemed to grow and grow until they were almost completely engulfing him. _If only I had someone to empathise with me._ He thought in mild desperation.

Dumbledore had begun to watch William and Sheridan for quite some time now and they had been laughing almost the whole time._ Yes, their friendship will last and by the expression on Williams face I think that mischief is already afoot. The twins have some great competition now. _Dumbledore tried his hardest to surpress a grin, but somehow he failed. Then he turned his attention towards Harry again. Harry was still gazing into thin air and his face remained impassive, just like it had throughout the holidays and the last few days. _Perhaps I should worry. _The headmaster thought. 


	3. Late night wanderings.

It was later on that day

I came. I saw. I conquered.

__

Em

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of any of the characters or of any of the places. As many fanfic authors say, I am just taking them all for a spin. The characters and their personalities as well as many other things I've mentioned were made up by the renowned JKR. Whom I'm sure you're all familiar with.

Authors note: Hmmm…I hope this is alright. I'm not sure. I don't mind any form of input you give me, as long as its what you think. You know what I usually say, if not read my other Authors notes. And now for the thanks:

Smarty: Thankyou…your threat worked.

Ravenclaw Filly: And the plot thickens.Thankyou…I'm glad you think its interesting. I hope the spelling is up to scratch.

Rachael: Thankyou.

Vmr: Thankyou.

Just after breakfast Dumbledore meandered towards his office. The sun was shinning brightly and as he passed class rooms he could hear the voices of various staff members dictating notes to their classes, giving lectures or giving praise. Every now and then he'd hear a gasp as a class was shown something new and wondrous.

When he reached the dominant Gargoyle he said 'Toffee Bon Bons' and entered. Fawks was sat on his perch, basking in the morning sun. Out the window he could see Hagrid teach a class how feed some sort of deadly creature. Of course he insisted were harmless, but in reality they could take any number of your limbs away with their eyes shut. The last remnants of dew still clung to the patches of grass that had only just been exposed to sunlight. The lake glistened with silver specks and a few patches of the grounds were dappled with shade from scattered groups of trees. Yes, it was a beautiful day, but one of few or many?

A few hours passed and Dumbledore realised that he hadn't opened his mail. Reluctant to read what might be in the letters he hesitantly brought them out of his pocket and placed them in front of him. A few moments passed and he just stared at them. _You're being silly. _He told himself. _Just open them, there might be something positive. A late birthday card. _He always liked birthdays and although hardly anyone knew when his birthday was he celebrated it with as much enthusiasm as a child of six. He eventually decided to open the first one, it read:

Dear Albus Dumbledore

I regret to inform you that due to an attack from you-know-who Jason Smith and his son died. I'm sorry that I had to be the bringer of such bad news, but I knew the ministry would cover it up. His wife luckily did survive and is staying with my family and me however it may not be safe for her to stay with us for too long and I was wondering that if worst comes to worst she could have residence at Hogwarts. It may not come to that, but can you owl me as soon as possible so that if it does become unsafe I can send her to you.

David- A friend.

Such sad news. He'd watched Jason grow up over the years, from a skittish boy to an accomplished wizard. _How many more have to die? And how long before the ministry realises that Voldemort is alive. _He opened the next letter. It was yet another complaint from Fudge about how he shouldn't be telling everyone that Voldemort was alive. The third however was one he hadn't expected, in a million years. Maybe in a million years. It was written in red ink and said:

Dear Albus Dumbledore

The Order Of The Phoenix will be enlisting Harry Potter, a student at Hogwarts into the order of the phoenix. His enlistment will take place four full moons from now. We hope that you can prepare him for what is to come as well as guide him in the way of the Phoenix. We would appreciate it if this is kept confidential. Your co-operation is a great help, but be warned. You cannot prevent him joining us for it is meant to be. 

Yours sincerely

Marcus Filch

Member of The Order Of The Phoenix

Dumbledore sat there in silence, taking in everything. _So the Order are going to enlist him. I knew it would eventually happen, but now? They know what they're doing; perhaps this is what he needs. His joining the Order will help bring more hope to the light and Snape and I will guide him towards the Order. Everything will turn out alright._ With that he turned towards one of his many shelves that held many books and pulled down a tatty one. On the cover of the book in silver lettering was 'The Order Of The Phoenix.'

It was later on that day. When I say later on, I mean it was late evening and Professor Snape and Trelawney were on patrol with Filch and of course Mrs Noris. Dumbledore couldn't seem to sleep so took to pacing around his office. The moonlight cast a silver streak of light along the floor and as he passed through it his white hair and beard glowed. Whenever he felt so much unrest in the past it meant that something was going to happen, whether it was good or bad, but what was it this time? _I do hope that Voldemort isn't going to attack tonight, we're not ready. _He thought dismally._ Perhaps I should organise some more protection for the school, but that would undoubtabley result in the stationing of dementors and there's no way I'm letting them on the schools premises again. _Suddenly he heard shouting from just outside the gargoyle and he ran to see what it was. He stepped out from the gargoyle and was greeted with the scene of Snape shouting at Trelawney.

"I don't care how many moons are eclipsing my inner sun, I'm not going to die!" He snapped and his all to familiar sneer made itself known. _How many more people's deaths is she going to predict? _He chuckled inwardly at this and then decided to cough slightly to announce his arrival. They looked at him and different degrees of red blossomed on their faces, they were obviously embarrassed by their lack of control. The hallway was dark and a cold current of air swept along it. The gargoyle stood tall and foreboding. 

"Ah, I knew you would come and see how we were doing." Trelawney said in a mysterious voice. "My inner eye told me so." Snape seemed infuriated by what she said and snapped.

"Your inner eye? I'm surprised the whole castle hasn't woken up and come here. What with your incessant babbling about your inner eye and how it tells you everything that has just happened." He paused to take breath and in the few seconds it took him to breathe she remarked.

"Well my inner eye has told me you're going to die soon and that hasn't happened yet." The two of them stood opposite each other in the middle of the draughty corridor, completely oblivious to Dumbledore.

"That's quite enough talk about death, everyones apprehensive enough about Voldemort's return." He said to her. Snape smirked, but then Dumbledore turned to him. "And no more snide comments to each other, we need to co-operate." He was about to return to his office, thinking that he'd be able to sleep now, but fate had other things in mind. There was the high pitch yell of a cat, presumably Mrs Noris. Snape and Trelawney ran to where the noise came from to be met with an angry Filch and his scared pet that had three foot horns extruding out of her head. Dumbledore walked slowly behind them and just as he was turning a corner he was knocked over by an invisible force. _What in Merlin's name was that? _He thought to himself as he fell, he momentarily stunned. As the force that hit him also fell and hit the floor it became visible and Dumbledore could see the silhouette of a boy. It was William Bungle. Further down the hall he heard a quiet gasp and assumed that it was Sheridan Peridot, but he could not see them because they were invisible. William got up and then helped his headmaster up. _I suppose they had something to do with Mrs Norris. I was right about them two…I wonder what exactly they did? _Just then he heard footsteps approaching and he decided to cast a spell on William to make him invisible again. "Follow me." He said under his breath. 

Snape, Trelawney and filch turned the corner. Filch was clutching the frightened cat in his arms. He held her so tightly it seemed as if he felt that if he let her go something else would happen.

"Professor Dumbledore." He said, running up towards him. "Look…look what those pesky brats have done to her." By now the three-foot horns were, for some odd reason going bright orange. "I hope you do something about this, and quick. They're not supposed to be wandering the halls at night and vandalising poor, innocent beings." Mrs Norris isn't what you would call innocent, but none the less Dumbledore agreed with him.

"Don't you worry. I'll sort this matter out. Professor Snape I do believe that the only way to cure this is by feeding her a potion. Can you please immediately start brewing it." At this point Trelawney interrupted.

"I'd watch out for her, Filch. My inner eye tells me that the potion may be her last." She stopped abruptly when Dumbledore looked at her sternly. Soon afterwards he left them and headed to his office, swiftly followed by two invisible mischief-makers. _I wonder what's next? _He thought. _I wonder._

When the door of the office closed Dumbledore flicked his wand and two scared boys stood before him. He jestured for them to sit and when they did they looked up at him. Youthful, wide eyes met old, exuberant ones and suddenly the atmosphere began to lighten. Dumbledore had always been good at this, he'd always been able to make evrything alright, just by being there.

"Thankyou." William said. His feelings not showing in his voice.

"You're quite welcome. This however doesn't mean that you can go wondering around the halls at night." The two boys nodded vigorously. "Although I do think that not even the infamous Weasley twins would have pulled that one off." He had to admit that he found it quite amusing, Mrs Norris had been the subject of many pranks, but not one quite like that one. Especially not by two first years. 

The twinkle in the old headmaster's eyes shone bright and looked as if they were emitting light. By looking at him you would think he'd had a short childhood. That he hadn't done all the things that children did, like grow up and that the twinkle that small children have that goes as they grow older in his case never got a chance to leave. Perhaps that was why he was so kind and forgiving towards the children; he wanted to give him what he had not. The two boys chuckled slightly, but not too loudly as they didn't want to overstep the line. It was a wonder to Dumbledore that they had been able to do such advanced magic, but instead of bombarding them with questions and lectures he let them leave. _What will the year hold next? _He asked himself, before wearily going to bed. 


	4. Two cloaked figures.

I came. I saw. I conquered.

__

Em

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of any of the characters or of any of the places. As many fanfic authors say, I am just taking them all for a spin. The characters and their personalities as well as many other things I've mentioned were made up by the renowned JKR. Whom I'm sure you're all familiar with.

Authors note: I decided to post another chapter of this fic. I know It's not up to scratch, but its been a while since I wrote some of this fic and so I'm on a different flow? Does that make sense. Anyway I was wondering whether or not you think I should continue? The next part will skip until yr 7. An explanation of the recent events will be made, but because its from Dumbledores POV you wont find out about harrys training, he'll just be arriving back. If I've skipped too much, tell me and I'll take this chapter down for something more slow moving. Harry is definatly in the next chapter!!! Thankyou all.

Kelzery…thankyou, your questions should be answered next chapter.

Leogrl…Harrys quiet because not only is he sad, but changed. He's grown up fast and in the next chapter a happier and yet more sombre Harry should be in place.

Holli…thankyou.

Jona…I always wanted to read a fic from Albus's POV, but no-ne (as far as I know) has done it and so that is why I'm writing this fic.

Anneliese…Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. My skills are definatly at their best in this one, I realised that I'd never get on with it unless it was at the point I would find the most interesting to write and so rushed it.

Nicky…thankyou. 

It was the next night and the sky was beginning to darken, Dumbledore looked out of his office window to see an uneasy Harry waiting for his detention with Snape. Of course Harry didn't know that the detention was just a cover up. He didn't know that Snape was going to teach him Advanced Defence Against The Dark Arts and that the detention was just a good way of doing it and making sure no one else would find out. 

Snape had enjoyed giving Harry the detention for breathing. All the Griffindor's had protested loudly at his announcement, which also gave him the chance to take ten points off of each of them. The Slytherin's however had enjoyed every minute of it and Malfoy was laughing so hard that for a while he couldn't breathe.

Harry looked at the placid lake; it was so still that it mirrored the moon exactly. _If only life could be just like this. Still and peaceful. _He could hear movement behind him and abruptly turned, wand pointing towards his assailant. It was Snape, his potion professor. Harry looked into his eyes and could briefly see fear dance in the ebony pupils. 

"Put the wand down, Potter." He bellowed and almost as an afterthought he sneered, "We don't want you to poke anyone's eyes out, do we." Harry didn't like this, but said nothing. "Now Potter, I want you to listen to me carefully. If you repeat anything I say to you to anyone else, even Granger and Weasley, I will make your life a living hell and don't even think I cant, what you've had so far has been mild in comparison to what I could do." At this the teenager lowered his wand and patiently awaited his next command. 'If you can't beat it, go with it.' He thought to himself idly.

Severus had expected a snide remark or perhaps an involuntary shiver of fear, but the 5th year in front of him was unnervingly impassive. "First off I want you to tell me what curses and hexes you already know, then I am going to teach you a little more. At the end you're going to learn them and do _a lot_ of reading for me, which you will be tested on. Any subordination, and I'd like to stress the word 'any', you will either give me a lap of the quidditch pitch, drop and give me twenty or any other activity that I see fit to give you. You will be tested, you will obey and I will tech you to the best of my abilities." He paused so that the information sunk in. "Dumbledore's orders, so don't think I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart." With that the lesson commenced with the usual icy sensation that engulfed the air when the two were near each other. 

The next couple of weeks involved the professor giving Harry detentions for things such as being too early, rustling parchment too loudly and his favourite: being in Griffindor. The whole of Griffindor were in an outrage and were hounding the headmaster to do something about it, whereas the whole of Slytherin were smiling the most they'd ever done in their entire lives. Albus didn't like turning a blind eye to the proceedings but he knew he had to and so busied himself in his daily routine, occasionally changing it when Miss Granger figured bits out and kept pestering him. Harry's grades began to improve in all his subjects especially DADA and he spent a lot of his time in the library with Hermione. His pensive attitude stayed the same and he rarely spoke at all, most of his friends and even acquaintances were worried, but he didn't notice.

The two new Griffindor troublemakers had managed to charm Minerva, a feat that no one had managed before. They'd also teamed up officially with the Weasley's in the roles of Apprentices. One of the funniest pranks involved an almost unreversible spell that the counter for had been erased from all the books in the library and meant that Severus had to wash his hair every day unless he wanted it to flash red and gold. Mysteriously no evidence of which the culprit was could be found and the only people who were upset by it were Slytherin's and they got their revenge with Harry Potter. All in all everything was all-right, the pranks even got a couple of small smiles from the 'boy who lived' and that was a major achievement. Infact, this little reaction drove the boys on to plan more daring and funnier things. 

It was during the full moon when two darkly clad figures approached the school gates, their clothes were a dark grey, almost black and hid their demeanour entirely. Not one word was spoken between them and so no more information could be obtained from them apart from the fact that one was a clear inch taller than the other. Severus was sat in the quidditch pitch stands, gleefully watching his young charge run several laps. Beside him a very pensive headmaster sat, his brows were furrowed in deep concentration and he didn't seem happy. Harry was leaving Hogwarts that night. The house elves had packed all of Harry's belongings and a big trunk along with a cage holding a snowy white owl was beside him. He'd miss the boy as well as countless others, there'd be an uproar in the wizarding community and no doubt the boys friends would give up learning his routine and instead break into his office. He looked up, sensing beady eyes watching him. Two people from the order were there and they were stood not too far from the bottom of the stands. This was it.

"Hello, Marcus?" He asked more than stated, not knowing whether Marcus was merely a secretary of sorts, the one who gave them orders or one of the agents before him.

"Hello Albus, it is nice to see you. Is that Harry?" He obviously knew the answer, everyone knew the 'boy who lived' but it was probably to break the silence or perhaps for extra measure.

"Yes, we have his things here as well. He'll be ready when you are. Just two things, he's not been exactly himself lately, I'd appreciate it if you made him welcome; he also doesn't know about the order, we haven't told him." The two figures jerked slightly in surprise at the new complications, but soon recovered. With that over with Albus went up to the teenager and bid him farewell, although the student probably thought he was just saying it because he was going back to the castle. 

It was on the way to the castle that the old man felt a twang of guilt. 'I hope he takes the news well and is alright.' He thought before turning around briefly to see the figures walking towards Harry. "Until we meet again young one, for I'm sure our paths were intertwined when our destiny was woven."

End of chapter four.

I hope it was all right and thankyou for your time.


End file.
